Press for loading explosives



Um. W4. P. v. m COSMO 2,304,806

PRESS FOR LOADING EXPLOSIVES Filed Nov. 9, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR F'nsquule V. di Eusrnu ATT NEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 1 Claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to a press for loading explosives and the like into shells and more particularly to a rotating machine having a plurality of press means at its periphery operated uninterruptedly by means of a fluid medium directed from rotating exhaust and return manifolds located axially of the machine and wherein the time of dwell and time of release of the press means is controlled by means responsive to the rotation.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to speed up production by providing means for a series of press-loading operations functioning simultaneously from an uninterrupted pressure fluid supply.

It is a further object of this invention to make possible the operation of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders or the like fixed to the surface of a rotating or indexing dial or table, and to make possible accurate control of the cycle or cycles of operation of the cylinders.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide novel means to make possible the transmission (including feed and return) of hydraulic or pneumatic pressure from fixed stationary feed and return lines located one above the other and on the same center line or axis, to one or more cylinders rotating about the center line or axis of the fixed feed and return lines.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a multi-cylinder hydraulic or pneumatic press with controlled cycles of operation, with controlled rate of pressure application and release, with controlled time of full pressure application or pressure dwell, and capable of high production capacity not limited by these other characteristics.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements described hereinafter and pointed out in the claim forming a part of this specification.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is an axial section of the machine in elevation,

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a detail showing the press rod and the tail of a projectile with tracer material therein.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, there is shown a base member I having a bore 2 for receiving the lower reduced end 3 of a shaft 4. An intermediate reduced portion 5 of shaft 4 receives the inner race 6 of ball bearings l. Shoulder 8 of shaft 4 is 'held down to inner race 6 and hence to the base I by a pull on the shaft 4 exerted by nut 9. Nut 9 is locked by set screws I, ll,

Surrounding the shaft 4 in spaced relation is the central passage I2 of the rotating table. This table is made in two parts having, respectively, an upper disk It and a lower disk M, the parts being held together by bolts !5 applied to flanges I5. Ribs I6 strengthen the rotating member for its working stresses.

The upper portion of passage 1 2 rotates around bearings l7 and is further journaled around member [8, the latter serving as a keeper for the bearing races and held by nut [9 having set screws 29, 2|. The lower portion of the table has further support in the shock-absorbing annular spring assembly 22.

Equally spaced around the outer margin of upper disk !3 are fourteen circular passages 23 through the disk having sleeves 24 providing cylinder walls for pistons 25. Obviously, the num-- ber of such cylinders employed is a matter of choice to be determined by the exigencies of any particular production schedule.

Piston 25 has a depending rod 26 and a lower rod 2'! connected thereto by means of flanged sleeve 28 held to rod 26 by set screws 29. Rod 2'! has a central bore for receiving the ram 30 and the latter is held therein by set screw 3| acting on a bevelled annular recess 32 near the end thereof. Sleeve 33 in bracket 34 bolted to column 35 between the upper and lower disks forms a guide means and lateral support for the lower rod 21.

Beneath the ram 30 is shown a projectile 35 with a rear axial bore 3! for containing the substance to be pressed, for instance tracer composition 38 (Figure 4). The cup 39 and spacers 40, 4| forming the holding means for the projectile rest loosely on the lower disk on sector-shaped spacer member 42 held by bolt 43 and having upstanding sides 44 serving to position the holder 39 in the proper position under the ram 30. Sides 44 are backed up by members 45.

Passing through shaft 4 is a pipe 46 forming the supply line for the pneumatic or hydraulic medium or the like. Threadedly attached to pipe 46 is the central member 41 of the manifolds 48, 49. The other end of member 41 is attached to the exhaust line 50, Member 41 has dead end central bores 52 opening from both ends and lateral bores 53, 54 opening into these central bores, respectively.

Surrounding and closely fitting central member 4'! is a gland 55 and held to this gland by means of stud bolts 56 and also surrounding and closely fitting the central member 41 are the lower and upper manifolds 48 and 49 respectively. An adapter 59 is positioned between the hub 50 on the lower manifold and an internal shoulder 6| on the shaft 4. The purpose of this adapter is to correctly position the bores 53 and 54 with the corresponding bores 62, 53 in the manifolds. The manifolds are held in proper position by means of lock nuts 64 fastened to an extent to prevent any substantial axial movement of the manifolds but not to prevent rotation of the same on thrust washers 55 and 65. It is understood, of course, that washers 65, 66 may be replaced by any type of thrust bearing.

Packing 61 is placed inside the lower manifold to prevent leakage. The upper manifold which represents the return side of the fluid line will not ordinarily require such packing, but it may be added if the pressures encountered require it.

Supply pipe 65 leading from the lower manifold, and exhaust pipe 69 leading into the upper manifold are connected to a hydraulic valve 10 which may be any of the well-known types. From the valve two pipe lines H, 12 lead to the cylinder and are attached to openings below the piston 25 and in the cylinder head 13 above the piston respectively. Valve action will then place the pressure side of the line above or below the piston to lower or raise the same as required.

Non-rotatably attached to shaft 4 by means of set screws 14 is a plate member 15 having bolted at its peripheral margin a generally ring-shaped cam member 15 having depressions 11. Ring I6 is replaceable by other cam surfaces, if required. Engaging this cam member at its periphery is a follower 18 which is attached to the internal slide mechanism of valve l0 and serves to operate the same on rotation of the system about shaft 4. The length of the are I! represents the time during which the pressure is holding the piston elevated while the normal outer periphery of ring 16 represents the condition where the pressure is above the piston holding it depressed on the work. The time of transition from one position of the piston to the other is governed by the slope of the portions 19 leading into depressed arcs 11.

It will be apparent that the invention, a particular embodiment of which is described in the foregoing, makes possible the operation of hydraulic, steam or pneumatic cylinders or other similar devices while in rotary motion, either continuous or intermittent. The novel arrangement makes possible the application of pressure to the material under process for a definite period of time without affecting the rate of production, for the time of pressure dwell is obtained and controlled during rotation of the machine frame, whereas the production capacity is determined by the speed of rotation and by the number of stations or presses provided in the machine.

I claim:

A machine for applying fluid pressure in the loading of explosives and the like comprising a fixed hollow central shaft, a cylindrical member rotatably mounted on said shaft and comprising an upper table and a lower table detachably secured together, positioning means for articles to be loaded located peripherally on said lower table in spaced relation and comprising pairs of bars positioned to describe an angle, cylinders having pressure pistons on said upper table above the positioning means, respectively, pressure-communicating rods depending from said pistons for contacting the articles to be loaded, a column between the upper and lower tables at each piston position, means slidably adjustable on each column for guiding and laterally supporting the adjacent of said depending rods, a tube fixed to the top of said central shaft, a partition midway of the tube closing the same, lateral apertures in the tube on either side of said partition, a fluid entry pipe passing through the central shaft and attached to the lower end of said tube, a fluid exit pipe attached to the upper end of said tube, a manifold surrounding said tube and rotatable thereabout, said manifold comprising cupped flanges with opposed recesses, a center plate between the flanges isolating the recesses, attaching means between each flange and the center plate, radial ports in each flange communicating with the recess and angularly spaced to correspond with the pistons, a fluid outlet pipe connected with each lower radial port and a fluid inlet pipe connected with each upper radial port, a pair of pipes in communication, with each of the cylinders on opposite sides of the piston, a valve attached to each pair of fluid inlet and outlet pipes and to the pair of pipes in communication with the corresponding cylinder and designed to reverse the flow with respect to the piston, and means for actuating said valves at predetermined points in the rotation of said cylindrical member, manifold, pipes and cylinders, said means comprising a table fixed to the hollow central shaft and having a cammed periphery, and followers atttached to the valves and urged into contact with the cammed periphery.

PASQUALE V. DI COSMO. 

